Understanding Happiness
Happiness is a common goal yet hard to describe. What’s happy? How to be happier? Happiness—choice or circumstance? Psychology studies the nature, causes, and effects of happiness to answer these questions.
This article will discuss happiness theories and practical ways to improve our well-being. We will also examine how happiness differs between cultures and circumstances.
The Concept of Happiness
Positive emotions like joy, satisfaction, contentment, and fulfilment are all components of the subjective emotional state of happiness. Depending on how we define and quantify happiness, different people will feel it in various ways and at varying levels.
Some individuals could mistakenly associate pleasure—the quick satisfaction of our sensations and desires—with contentment. This is sometimes referred to as hedonic bliss, which is based on the hedonistic philosophy of the ancient Greeks. This point of view contends that happiness is the accumulation of all of life’s enjoyable experiences, and that the purpose of living is to enjoy life to the fullest extent possible while avoiding suffering.
However, pleasure is neither the only nor the longest-lasting source of happiness. According to research, when sought excessively, pleasure can even result in boredom and discontent because it tends to vanish rapidly. Additionally, a lot of what makes us happy depends on outside elements that are frequently beyond of our control. Examples of these elements include riches, health, attractiveness, and celebrity.
Eudaimonia, a Greek word that also means “human flourishing” or “living well,” provides another lens through which to view happiness. According to Aristotle’s philosophy, this is also referred to as eudaimonic happiness. This point of view contends that pleasure is not a mental condition but rather a way of life that entails realising our potential and acting in accordance with our actual selves. Developing our qualities, such as wisdom, courage, justice, and compassion, as well as taking part in worthwhile endeavours that advance the common good are necessary for achieving eudaimonic bliss.
Because it is more dependent on our inner resources and values than it is on outside causes, eudaimonic happiness is more consistent and fulfilling than hedonic happiness. It also provides us a feeling of direction and purpose in life, which can strengthen our resiliency and coping mechanisms in the face of hardships and challenges.
Happiness in Psychology
Psychology has studied happiness since its founding in the late 19th century. Psychology concentrated on mental illness, stress, trauma, and violence during most of the 20th century. Psychoanalysis and behaviorism stressed unconscious conflicts and external factors in determining human behavior.
Happiness, optimism, creativity, and compassion were not studied in psychology until the late 20th century. Humanistic and positive psychology challenged mainstream paradigms and offered a more comprehensive and balanced perspective of human nature.
Psychoanalysis and behaviorism led to humanistic psychology in the 1950s and 1960s. It stressed free will, personal growth, self-actualization, and human potential in molding behavior. Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Rollo May, and Viktor Frankl pioneered humanistic psychology. They believed humans are driven to meet their wants, express their real selves, find purpose in life, and overcome their constraints.
Positive psychology began in the late 1990s to research human strengths, virtues, and optimal functioning. Martin Seligman, Ed Diener, Barbara Fredrickson, Sonja Lyubomirsky, and Christopher Peterson founded positive psychology. They said that psychology should focus on both repairing and improving individuals.
Humanistic and positive psychology focus on happiness as a key component of well-being. Self-report measurements, qualitative interviews, case studies, experiments, longitudinal research, cross-cultural comparisons, and interventions are also prevalent.
Happiness Vs Satisfaction
Although they are frequently used synonymously in ordinary speech, happiness and contentment are not the same thing entirely. While satisfaction is a cognitive assessment of how effectively our expectations or goals are accomplished, happiness is a state of subjective emotional well-being that incorporates happy sensations.
Both internal factors—such as personality, mood, or attitude—and external factors—such as occasions, circumstances, or people—can have an impact on happiness. Additionally, satisfaction may be affected by both internal (such as values, standards, or preferences) and external (such as results, feedback, or rewards) variables.
Different scales can be used to measure contentment and happiness. For instance, we can gauge how content or pleased we are with a certain area of our lives, such our jobs, our health, or our relationships. In addition, we may gauge our overall happiness or life satisfaction, sometimes referred to as subjective well-being or life satisfaction.
Additionally, happiness and contentment might change throughout time. For instance, we may gauge our level of happiness or satisfaction at a certain time or over a given length of time. We can gauge our level of contentment or happiness on a regular basis or throughout time.
Satisfaction and happiness don’t have to be antagonistic. Either we may be content with our lives while also being happy, or we can be content with our lives while yet being miserable. In addition, we might be miserable and unsatisfied with our lives, or joyful yet unsatisfied with our lives.
Both happiness and contentment are crucial for our health. On our conduct, they could, nevertheless, have varying results. For instance, happiness could inspire us to look for more pleasurable feelings or experiences. We may be motivated to preserve or enhance our present state or performance if we feel satisfied.
The Role of Happiness in Personal Growth
Happiness is not only a desirable outcome but also a facilitator of personal growth. Happiness can enhance our physical health, mental health, social relationships, creativity, productivity, learning, resilience, altruism, spirituality, and overall quality of life.
Some of the benefits of happiness for personal growth are:
- Physical health: Happiness can boost our immune system, reduce inflammation, lower blood pressure, improve cardiovascular function , regulate hormones , and increase longevity .
- Mental health: Happiness can reduce stress , anxiety , depression , and other negative emotions. It can also increase self-esteem , self-confidence , self-efficacy , and optimism .
- Social relationships: Happiness can improve our communication skills , empathy , trust , cooperation , and conflict resolution . It can also increase our social support , social network , and social capital.
- Creativity: Happiness can stimulate our curiosity , exploration , divergent thinking , and problem-solving . It can also increase our openness to new ideas , experiences , and perspectives.
- Productivity: Happiness can enhance our motivation , engagement , performance , and achievement . It can also increase our satisfaction , loyalty , and commitment.
- Learning: Happiness can facilitate our attention , memory , comprehension , and retention . It can also increase our curiosity , interest , and intrinsic motivation.
- Resilience: Happiness can help us cope with challenges , adversities , and failures . It can also increase our flexibility , adaptability , and growth mindset.
- Altruism: Happiness can inspire us to help others , contribute to society , and care for the environment . It can also increase our generosity , compassion , and gratitude.
- Spirituality: Happiness can connect us with ourselves , others , nature , and a higher power . It can also increase our sense of meaning , purpose , and transcendence.
Happiness as a Choice
Happiness as a choice is a hot topic. Some think genetics, environment, and luck determine happiness. Some think that ideas, behaviors, and habits determine happiness. Truth likely lies between. Happiness depends on three factors:
– Set point: This refers to our baseline level of happiness that is influenced by our genes , personality , and temperament . It accounts for about 50% of our happiness variation.
– Circumstances: This refers to the external factors that affect our happiness , such as income , health , marriage ,or culture . It accounts for about 10% of our happiness variation.
– Intentional activities: This refers to the internal factors that affect our happiness ,such as goals,values, attitudes, or behaviors. It accounts for about 40% of our happiness variation. These findings suggest that while we cannot change our set point or circumstances completely, we can still influence our happiness significantly by choosing intentional activities that align with our strengths, interests, and values. Some examples of intentional activities that can increase our happiness are :
– Expressing gratitude: This involves appreciating what we have ,thanking others , or keeping a gratitude journal .
– Practicing kindness: This involves helping others, volunteering, donating, or complimenting.
– Savoring: This involves enjoying the present moment, paying attention to sensory details, or reliving positive memories.
– Pursuing goals: This involves setting and achieving meaningful and challenging goals that match our skills and passions.
– Learning: This involves acquiring new knowledge, skills, or experiences that stimulate our curiosity and growth.
– Meditating: This involves practicing mindfulness, awareness, or relaxation techniques that calm our mind and body.
– Exercising: This involves engaging in physical activities that improve our health, mood, and energy.
– Socializing: This involves spending time with people who support us, inspire us, or make us laugh.
These are just some of the many intentional activities that can boost our happiness. However, not all activities work for everyone. The key is to find out what works for us personally and to do it regularly and intentionally.
References & Examples: Happiness in Literature
Happiness is a universal theme that has been explored by many writers and poets throughout history. Literature can offer us insights, inspiration, and wisdom on how to pursue and experience happiness in different ways and contexts.
Some examples of literary works that deal with happiness are:
– The Epic of Gilgamesh: This is one of the oldest stories in the world, dating back to ancient Mesopotamia. It tells the story of Gilgamesh, a king who seeks immortality and happiness by going on a series of adventures with his friend Enkidu. Along the way, he learns about friendship, love, loss, and mortality.
– The Analects of Confucius: Confucius was a Chinese philosopher who lived in the 6th century BC. This is a collection of sayings and lessons he is said to have taught. It includes subjects including politics, education, ethics, and human nature. How to find pleasure by abiding by the moral precepts of ren (humanity), li (ritual), and xiao (filial piety) is one of the book’s key themes.
– The Bhagavad Gita: This passage from the Hindu epic Mahabharata is considered to be holy. It shows a conversation between Arjuna, a warrior prince who must decide between right and wrong before a fight, and Krishna, his charioteer and heavenly mentor. It demonstrates how to find pleasure by carrying out one’s duties without worrying about the outcomes, according to one’s dharma (mission), and giving oneself up to God.
– The Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle: This is a treatise on ethics written by Aristotle, a Greek philosopher who lived in the 4th century BC. It examines the nature and purpose of human life and happiness. It argues that happiness is the highest good and the ultimate goal of human action. It also defines happiness as living according to virtue and reason.
– The Divine Comedy of Dante: This is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri, an Italian poet who lived in the 14th century AD. It describes Dante’s journey through the three realms of the afterlife: Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. It illustrates how human actions have consequences for one’s happiness or misery in this life and the next. It also shows how happiness can be achieved by following God’s will and love.
– Candide by Voltaire: This is a satirical novel written by Voltaire, a French philosopher who lived in the 18th century AD. It follows the adventures of Candide, a young man who is taught by his tutor Pangloss that everything happens for the best in this best of all possible worlds. However, he soon encounters various misfortunes and evils that challenge his optimism. He eventually learns that happiness can only be found by cultivating one’s own garden.
Statistics: Global Happiness Index
Happiness can also be measured at a collective level , such as a country , region , or world . One of the most widely used indicators of national happiness is the World Happiness Report , which is an annual publication by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network .
The World Happiness Report ranks countries based on their levels of subjective well-being , which is measured by six factors :
– GDP per capita : This reflects the economic output and income of a country.
– Social support: This reflects the availability and quality of social relationships , such as family , friends , or community .
– Healthy life expectancy: This reflects the average number of years that a person can expect to live in good health.
– Freedom to make life choices: This reflects the degree of autonomy and agency that a person has over their own life.
– Generosity: This reflects the extent to which people donate money or time to help others.
– Perceptions of corruption: This reflects the degree to which people trust their government , institutions , or society.
According to the World Happiness Report 2022, which was based on data from 2018 to 2020, these are the top 10 happiest countries in the world :
| Rank | Country | Score |
| 1 | Finland | 7.842 |
| 2 | Denmark | 7.620 |
| 3 | Switzerland | 7.571 |
| 4 | Iceland | 7.554 |
| 5 | Netherlands | 7.464 |
| 6 | Norway | 7.392 |
| 7 | Sweden | 7.363 |
| 8 | Luxembourg | 7.324 |
| 9 | New Zealand | 7.277 |
| 10 | Austria | 7.268 |
The World Happiness Report also provides insights into how different factors affect happiness across countries . For example , it found that :
– The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on happiness , especially in countries that had high infection rates , strict lockdown measures , or low social trust .
– The social environment was more important than income for happiness , especially in times of crisis . Countries that had high levels of social support , trust , and generosity were more resilient and happier than countries that had low levels .
– The natural environment also mattered for happiness . Countries that had high levels of environmental quality , biodiversity , and sustainability were happier than countries that had low levels .
The World Happiness Report aims to provide useful information and guidance for policymakers , researchers , and citizens who want to improve well-being and happiness in their societies .
References:
(1) Psychology of Happiness: A Summary of the Theory & Research. https://positivepsychology.com/psychology-of-happiness/
(2) What Is Happiness and How Can You Become Happier? – Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-happiness-4869755
(3) Happiness | Definition, Nature, Psychology, & Facts | Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/happiness
(4) Psychology of Happiness – Psychologist World. https://www.psychologistworld.com/emotion/psychology-of-happiness-positive-affect
(5) The Pursuit of Happiness – Psychology – Open Text WSU. https://opentext.wsu.edu/psych105nusbaum/chapter/the-pursuit-of-happiness/